Questions
If you’ve got a saxophone question, and 1. You’ve either had no luck researching the answer yourself, 2. The answers you’ve gotten make no sense to you, or 3. You’re not even sure where to ask it, you can ask it on this page via a comment.
If I don’t know the answer to your question, I’ll do my best to research it, and get as much information as I can for you.
Photo by M. Margison. Photo effects by H. Kahlke ©2008
Suggestions
Also, if you have any suggestions for future blog posts, I would love to hear them. Feel free to post your ideas here, or use the Contact page to send me note with your idea.
Perhaps you have a vintage horn with an interesting history that you’d like to tell people about. I’m always open to having you tell your horn’s story on my website. Just get in touch with me, and we’ll figure out the details.
Photo & photo effects by H. Kahlke © 2009
I’ve been playing with a rental Selmer TS500 for about two months and I’m starting to think about buying a tenor sax. I want to keep it under $1000, but I don’t want one of those rock bottom products. Since tuning and adjusting will be required for any instrument, am I better off buying new or used (in good condition)? I’ve been reading about the Selmer Legacy TS1000 which seems to be at a good price point. How does in compare with comparably priced Yamaha models or is there another manufacturer I should be considering? Thanks.
Hi Gary. Welcome to my site.
Saxophones are a bit like cars: a new one will depreciate the moment you leave the store with it. I always encourage people who are open to it, to buy used. This allows them to save some $, since the horns have already gone down from their original purchase price, and depending on what you buy, there’s a good chance that what you’re buying is better than what you buy new today.
I usually recommend that my students see if they can find a good, used, Japan-made Yamaha. In this case a YTS-23 would do the job nicely. I’m emphasizing Japan-made, since for the past few years Yamaha has been out-sourcing their student model horns to some other country. Towards the end of the 23’s run, the out-sourcing started to occur already, so the last of the 23s were not made in Japan. I’m not exactly sure when this started to happen though.
Luckily these horns can be found fairly easily—though the altos are more abundant than the tenors—so check them out in person through your local Craigslist, online classifieds, etc. Another good place to check can be local repair/rental shops. I just found a Japanese-made YAS-23 for a friend’s daughter. My tech had the 23 in his back room, because it was a former rental instrument. Because it’s not as “pretty” anymore, it doesn’t go out (school kids go for bling over sound), but by David’s own admission, it’s better than the Selmer student horn he rents new.
I usually suggest Yamaha student horns for my students is that these instruments are the easiest to learn on for a number of reasons. In no particular they include:
1. They are quite well made, and stay in regulation fairly well.
2. They have an even scale, and thus are consistent across the full range of the horn.
3. They are easy to produce any of the saxophone’s tones from. (Compared to other saxophones of the same voice.)
4. They are the easiest horn to play in tune.
5. If you do decide you want a pro horn later on, these make good back-up horns. A person will be able to sell it again fairly easily, or keep it as a back-up for themselves.
Don’t rule out the YAS-21/YTS-21 if you can find them either. I actually like the 21’s slightly better than the 23’s.
Hello,
I’m Italian and I’m seeking for an expert to value an instrument I found in my grandfather house recently…well this instrument was passed from his great-grandfather hands before he gave it to my grandpa… the mark on the instrument is W. Stowasser’s Sohne. I would love to contact you privatly to send you some pics.
(email – pep91pe@hotmail.it)
Regards
Hi!
My Dad played the saxophone for many years but now, in his eighties, finds he can’t any more! He wants to sell his saxophone. It is a tenor sax and a Selmer Pennsylvania g1970. It has a silver plated finish. I know that the Pennsylvania range were a budget range but wondered if someone could advise on a suitable price?
Hi Jessica. Welcome to my site.
I’d have to see a couple of pictures, but from the letter in front of the serial #, I’d say it’s a stencil saxophone made by Orsi. Would you be able to attach a couple of photos to a comment here just so that I can confirm this? Then I can give you a better idea of how to calculate the price…helen
Hi!
Thanks for your reply. I have got my Dad to send a couple of photos.
Here is another.
Any information you have would be really useful. I think he’s quite curious to find out more about it!
Thank you!
Yup, just as I suspected, it is a stencil saxophone made by Orsi. I have a few of these in the Orsi gallery on Bassic Sax Pix.
You were right when you first wrote that it likely isn’t a high value item. These Orsi saxophones (whether professional or student model), don’t fetch much money when being offered for sale.
In order to determine a fair selling price, I would suggest that you use the Vintage Sax Valuations page on my website. When you search for brands, be sure to search for Selmer Pennsylvania, but cast your net wider, and look for any of the Orsi stencil names that I have listed in my Orsi gallery. (These are only a few, there are lots more, but it will give you a place to start.) Also, you can try to look for Orsi tenor saxophones and see what turns up.
I don’t know where in the world you are, but in Europe these horns selling for slightly more than they do here in North America. So if you’re in the UK for example, I’d start by looking at the UK eBay site.
The main thing to consider is the condition of the horn. I can’t see from these photos what kind of shape your dad’s horn is in, but you have to compare it to other Orsi-made saxophones in similar condition. Also, notice the brace that separates the bell and body is circular. Try to compare your dad’s sax to Orsis that have that same type of bell to body brace.
I hope this has been somewhat helpful Jessica. Let me know if I can be of any further assistance.
Regards,
Helen
Wow! Thank you, that is all really helpful!
I’m in the UK. I have tried searching for Selmer Pennsylvania but the ones on EBay are not Orsi ones. Do they vary in value a lot being from different manufacturers? Is there an easy way to tell if it is a student or pro model? My sax knowledge is not great but I am hoping my Dad will make sense of any reply! He is also very grateful for your help. Finally, do you have any idea of its age?
Glad to be able to be of help Jessica.
I figured you were likely in the UK. These Orsi-made Selmers seem to pop up there all the time.
To answer your question: Yes, you have to compare your dad’s sax to other Orsi horns. Saxophones made by other makers can be worth different amounts of money. For an extreme example, if you just went to eBay and searched for “Selmer saxophone”, you’d likely find a lot of Selmer Paris horns. The most expensive tenors can easily set you back between $6,000 to $10,000 US. Selmer had some of their Pennsylvania horns made by Borgani, while other non-Selmer Pennsylvania saxophones were made Kohlert. Both of those are again different from yours.
That’s why knowing who made your horn is so important: It allows you to properly research comparable horns to determine your saxophone’s approximate value. I say approximate, since in the end the market is full of fluctuations, and any horn is worth what the seller and buyer can agree to in price.
As far as determining if your dad’s horn is a pro or student model, it appears to be a pro model horn. The bell to body brace on their student horns was a straight piece of brass, like on this Selmer Pennsylvania alto. If you’d like to see some old catalogue pages from Orsi that show both the student and pro horns, I have them in the Orsi gallery.
As for the age, that’s a bit tougher, since Orsi has never published a serial # chart. I do have tenor #F4105 in my gallery that was listed by a fellow in the UK. Mark Wiseman owns The Little Sax Shop, and is very knowledgeable about vintage saxophones. According to him, that horn was from the 1980s, so my guess would be that your dad’s horn is roughly from that time period as well. But that is only a guess. Does that roughly fit with what your dad knows of his sax? Perhaps what he was told when he bought it?
I am an avid alto sax player. I am looking for the sax sheet music for the third chorous of Washington Square,Village Stompers,1963. It is the only chorous featuring the sax. Iwould give anything to play it.
Hi brian. Welcome to my site.
I did a bit of poking around on the web, and can’t find any place that mentions the sax line in an arrangement. I’ve seen piano scores, guitar tabs, etc. I even found a mention from 2005 on SOTW, but the reply from John Laughter was for the melody line as well.
It seems to me that your best bet is to transcribe it yourself from the original recording. Sure, it’s a bit of work, but it really helps with developing a lot of skills along the way—not the least of which is your ears’ ability to hear relative pitches.
Best of luck with your transcription! :saxy:
Regards,
Helen
Greetings, I actually have a vito alto sax just like the one you have on your site claiming to be Johnny Hodges. Are they worth anything? Mine is in MINT condition and plays pretty well. I never use it on gigs but it is beautiful.
Gary
Hi gary. Welcome to my website.
Honestly, I’ve almost given up trying to figure out what lovely vintage saxophones are worth. In today’s economy I’ve seen wonderful, completely restored, gold-plated, minty horns sell for around $600, and P.O.S. horns needing an overhaul go for triple that. Things are pretty screwed up ATM. I think to the right buyer, any vintage horn will be worth a decent amount. Mint condition horns are especially valued, but again, it has to be to the right buyer.
The way I try to figure out the value of a vintage horn is by going through this exercise. It was developed a number of years ago by my friend and colleague Pete Hales, the founder and creator of the original Saxpics site. I’ve tweaked it some to be specific to saxophones, and have found that it is a very useful tool. That said, when dealing with rare or uncommon horns, it can sometimes take time to collect data on those.
Since yours is in mint condition, that will add value to some of the examples that will turn up through using the steps laid out in the Vintage Sax Valuations page I linked to above on my website. How much extra value? Well that’s rather subjective I suspect. If you can find other mint, or even minty examples, then you’ll likely be in a better position to be able to tell what yours is worth.
Hopefully this info has helped gary.
Regards,
Helen
Hi Helen
thank You for paying attention to my question about the Amati horn, it would be nice to get some more informations via Your friend Pete some times.
I own by my self a silver plated alto MK VI S.N. 98xxx, a silver plated tenor Hohner President S.N. 57xxx and the questionable Amati Kraslice.
So I don`t think its necessary to make some fotos because there are for shure enough in the web.
Have a good time and try to listen Keshavan Maslak`s “Loved by millions” a great album I guess.
Best Regards Mathias
Hello Helen
after visiting your great webside very often it`s time to get in contact with You to get hopefully some questions answered about the strange horn I`ve got via E-bay a couple of weeks before.
First of all it`s a Amati Kraslice alto in a nickelsilver finish with a gold washed inner bell and it`s full mother of pearl equiped on his keywork even the g sharp key on the left hand table.It has a serial Nr. 155 on body and neck identical and also a microtuner but no any mark it was Made in …… The neck is absolutely identic to the VKS models made by Kohlert also the low B and Bb keys hole close mechanism but the keyguards identic to the Keilwert Toneking models before and after WW.II.Also the complete keywork looks like Keilwerth Toneking so it seems to me its assembled from parts, of both companies after WW.II by Amati Kraslice, the still had on stock.I put some pictures beside this notice and asking You, have You ever seen a conclomerate of parts result in a horn like this?
Thank You listen to me
Best Regards Mathias Breuning
P.S. tried to load more JPEGs but I don`t know how to fix it
P.S.S. more JEPEGs under Photos
one more JEPEG Amati Kraslice as
one more
the last one
What an interesting horn Mathias. Congratulations on winning it on eBay.
I can’t remember seeing anything quite like it before, but my friend Pete might have. He has been researching these vintage CSR/German horns a lot recently, and has a library of photos that is much larger than mine when it comes to the Kohlerts. I’m going to ask him to drop in and see if he has any ideas as well. In the meantime, I’m going to do some research in the materials that I have, and see if I find anything.
Do you have any other photos you’d like to upload? If so, feel free to do so. Thanks!
Thank you dropping by Mathias. Hopefully between Pete & I we can come up with some answers for you.
Regards,
Helen
Hello!! I have just bought an alto Pan american with the same engraved as the one that you have in your web. The serial num is 50699, can you give some information about this sax, year, if its from conn, sale price in good condition…
I acquired because I like to restore saxophones and I´ve heard some pan americans and love their sound.
Thanks a lot!!
Hi, can you let me know where you get the angel wing guards for tenor and alto Keilwerth Tonekings? I would really like to fit one on my King Tempo which is a toneking stencil… I know it wasn’t original to the horn, but anyway… I like it!
Hi Shirish. Welcome to my website.
I’m sorry I don’t know where you can get the angel wing key guards anymore. I got mine from the late Gerhard Keilwerth’s shop in Nauheim, Germany. However, a friend of mine recently sent a couple of inquiries to them about an angel wing for 1957 The New King tenor, and received no replies. Another source was supposed to be the Keilwerth company themselves. A player from Europe contacted JK in Germany, and bought guards from them a couple of years ago, but that was before the latest sale to Buffet.
I would suggest your best bet would be to contact Keilwerth and see what they can do for you. I just checked, but can’t find any listing for JK in Germany, just the Keilwerth contact listing under the Buffet group. Good luck, and let me know what they say.
There might also be some after-market angel wings out there. I’ve heard rumours of people who make them, but have yet to see them, or find a link to a website.
Not a question, just a suggestion.
Check out a band called T.R.A.M. Led by Tosin Abasi (of Animals as Leaders), it also features Adrian Terrazas (of Mars Volta) on winds. It’s instrumental prog-rock, somewhat reminiscent of late 60’s Soft Machine (only harder edged), and also reminds me of instrumental Zappa back in the day when he was working with Ian Underwood. It’s more metal than either of these though.
Thanks Mal. I’m always interested in finding new artists to listen to.
Your Picture of the lacquer on a selmer bal act tenor looks like my BA alto. I don’t know how old that post is but—it looks a lot alike. I have questions about this alto also—I bought it around 1964 from a horn seller in NJ.
I am trying to add an image —-if you could send your e-mail address I could be sure to send it.
Thank you
John Nielsen
gilajohn@hotmail.com
Email sent. (A little late, but hey, that seems to be the story of my life lately.) Sorry ’bout that.
Hi Helen
E-mailed you a few pic’s of that alto—-tried to put a pic here but could not? It is a JPEG—will have to try again or you could put the ones I sent you. Thanks Helen.
This site is fun—and great pictures.
John
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